To Find an Island: Timothy Gusto's S-Class Trial Phase One
"Members of Dragon Gunfire, it has been some time since our guild last held a trial, and I thank you for participating in the event this year. This will be the first step towards rebuilding our guild to its former glory. We have ten strong and talented mages partaking this year, and I expect great things from each of you. Remember, only one of you will be guaranteed a position as the newest S-Class Mage of our guild. The trial begins now. Your first objective, is to find our trial site. Good luck!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Timothy went over the announcement within his mind as he approached his personal study in his apartment. "Now to find the island, I assume information on Aether Cade is required. Now let's see..." Timothy thought out loud as he sat down at his desk. In front of him, five Archive light screens appeared with a keyboard interface on the desk's surface. Timothy began to type away as all the information he knew on Aether Cade and his islands appeared on the screens, while his other hand was absentmindedly making gestures to his side. After a moment a bottle of soda, being supported by a cushion of air, was brought into the room from the fridge and into his hand. Once Timothy grabbed it, the cap popped off and flew directly into the trash bin next to the desk, allowing Timothy to take a swig of the soda as he was reading. "Hmmm, since the island is mobile, that means I will have to track the island. The only problem is that the island doesn't leave a conventional trail to follow. What to do..." Timothy mused as he racked his brain. He was focusing on the little information he has on Aether's island when he stumbled on a clue. "Aether made the whole island himself, which means... shouldn't the island have a similar magic signature to Aether?" Timothy quickly turned to another screen with information on Aether himself, searching for any sign of what exactly his magic signature is. After a moment of searching, Timothy found his notes on Aether that gave him just what he needed. "Perfect. Now to go track the island." Timothy wiped his hands across the screens, removing all the clutter information and revealing a map of Fiore and the surrounding waters. He looked over the map as he tried to deduce a decent place to start searching for the island. "I guess the guild would be the most logical spot to start the search," Timothy said as he pressed his finger to the guild's location as his Ping spell activated in search of any evidence of Aether's magic signature. What looked like a wave of magic appear on the screen and rotated around his finger a few times before showing two red dots with a varying degree of brightness, within the waters around Fiore. "So these must be Aether's islands. Now if I was William, I would already be there awaiting the contestants," Timothy said as he refocused his Ping spell on those two islands, looking for William Mercury's magical signature this time. This time only one of the islands appeared on the screens to be highlighted. "Bingo," Timothy said as he looked at the map. He began to examine just how far away the island was from his current position. "Hmmm... a bit too far to fly if I want to conserve my magic. Maybe I should sail? It would take a few hours by boat," Timothy paused to take a drink before picking up his communication lacrima to call the closest marina. "Yes, Hello. I am in need of a vessel as promptly as possible... An hour? That's perfect. Also, can you pack some food into the vessel as well? Just in case. I will have the payment in full on arrival," Timothy said before setting down his lacrima. Timothy stood from his desk and downed the rest of the soda before tossing the bottle in the bin. "Might as well get ready to head out now," Timothy said as he entered his bedroom for a quick shower and a change of clothes. He walked out of his apartment after grabbing his spare Jewel pouch and locked the door behind him before stepping out into the street. He breathed in the fresh air before He began to Levitate off the ground and slowly rose about the tree line around him. "Alright let's go," Timothy said as he quickly accelerated to his maximum speed towards the Marina. He landed right outside of the main boathouse with relative ease and hailed the owner After a few moments of speaking, Timothy pulled out 2,000 jewels for the boat rental and food, with an additional 5,000 as a tip. The owner of the vessel in awe at the number of jewels that were so easily given. Timothy jumped into the vessel and cast off, willing the air around him to billow into the sails, pushing Timothy forward towards the island with ease. After an hour of sailing, Timothy was about half way at his island destination when his stomach began to growl. Timothy set the course of the vessel in its place, being mindful of any potential storms nearby, before he went down into the galley to make a light lunch. After a half hour in the galley, the water began to rock the boat harder and harder. Timothy finished eating and locked everything back in place before returning deck side to see a swell of storm clouds had quickly come overhead. "That's strange... storm cells don't usually move this quickly. Must be a test for the trials or just very strange atmospheric phenomenon. Oh well," Timothy said aloud as he took control of the helm. He refocused his HUD map to see where the path of least resistance was within the storm before changing his course. The waters began to get rougher as it began to get harder to steer. "Why'd it have to be an island. Of all the places for a test..." Timothy said as he punched into the air in the direction of the island, his Gust spell erupting from his wrist as it tore into the clouds above and in front of him, clearing a path. "That's better. Might as well rush to get the island now before the storm clouds form back together," He said as he willed the air to push into the sails even harder. He even made a slight air cushion between the bottom of the boat and the water to reduce rockiness of the water. After about forty-five minutes, Timothy arrived at the island's makeshift dock, and went through the process of tying off the boat securely so that it wouldn't float away. "There, now where is everyone else? They will be glad I have some food for them." Timothy said as he began following his HUD map to William. After a few minutes of walking Timothy came to a clearing where William was waiting for everyone. "Good Day William! How goes it?" Timothy said in greetings to his guild master. "I decided to bring refreshments for everyone back at the dock, if that's okay with you?"